The present invention relates to attachments for power tools and more particularly to attachments for power tools for use in cleaning.
Manual and powered cleaning tools are known in the art, including, for example, handheld battery-powered rotary scrubbing tools made to receive brushes and scrub pads among other attachments, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,268 to Murphy et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,102 to Madison. Handheld power scrubbers are also available from Black & Decker. However, the tools cited above are all specialized devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,231 to Nacar discloses a brush attachment for a power tool such as an electric drill. U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,887 to Synowski discloses a polishing and buffing attachment for mounting to a rotating tool, the attachment including an elongate head member with an outer padded layer. Design Pat. No. 292,834 to Slachta discloses a design for an electric drill attachment for mounting cleaning pads or the like.
The above-referenced patents and products are representative examples of the prior art. However, a need remains for improved cleaning devices and methods employing handheld rotary tools. More particularly, there remains a need for more effective, easy-to-use cleaning attachments for rotary tools, and a need for cleaning methods which save labor without expensive equipment in the household and especially in commercial applications such as bars and restaurants where it is essential to control operating costs.